News in brief

The loyalist killer Michael Stone has confessed that he intended to assassinate the Sinn Féin leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness when he burst into the Stormont assembly building last Friday. In a letter to the Belfast Telegraph he described himself as a "freelance, dissident loyalist paramilitary" and declared: "On receiving this correspondence, I ... will be in one of two positions. One I will be in custody ... [or] two, that I am deceased." Stone has been charged with five counts of attempted murder. His release licence under the Good Friday agreement has been revoked. Owen Bowcott

Kitchen company boss arrested in raid

A kitchen company boss was arrested yesterday after a raid on his Greater Manchester firm by 130 trading standards officers. Vance Miller, 41, was held on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. Two women, aged 30 and 26, and a 42-year-old man were also arrested after raids on three homes in Greater Manchester. The operation, the biggest of its kind ever mounted, began at a mill in Oldham, the base for the company known as Kitchens, which has been the subject of up to 100 complaints a week over the cheap kitchens it sold. It has also been denounced in a series of TV consumer programmes. David Ward

Average GP wage rises to more than £100,000

GPs' average earnings have risen to more than £100,000 a year, according to government figures yesterday. The NHS Confederation, which represents employers, expressed dismay at the 30% rise in incomes in 2004-05 following the contract agreement to provide extra incentives to develop GP services. Some earn more: the average income for a GP whose practice also dispenses medicines was £127,924; those with a dispensing list of more than 1,000 patients had an average income after expenses of £158,567. The BMA insisted GP services were a cost-effective use of NHS money. Sarah Boseley

Officer injured as gang shoot at police van

An armed gang shot at a police patrol van yesterday, causing facial injuries to a male officer and leaving his female colleague in shock. The incident followed an armed robbery at the Barclays bank in Winter Hey Lane, Horwich, Greater Manchester, at 9.30am involving a three-strong gang. The gang were said to have fled the bank in a Ford Focus car and then switched to a Ford Mondeo. One of the men reportedly left that car and fired a shot through the front screen of the pursuing police van. Staff at the bank had been threatened with a shotgun before the gang escaped with cash. Helen Carter

Anti-smoke campaigner dies of lung cancer

The anti-smoking campaigner Allen Carr, who claimed to have helped 10 million people around the world kick the habit, died yesterday of lung cancer at the age of 72. He was diagnosed in July, and given only a few months to live. Mr Carr who was born in Peckham, south London, claimed to have smoked 100 cigarettes a day for 40 years until 1983, when he gave up using what would become his patented Easyway method. Shortly before his death he published an open letter to Tony Blair complaining that his method was not available on the NHS, while nicotine replacement products were. Esther Addley

Councils to withdraw home support for elderly

The lives of hundreds of thousands of older people will be blighted next year because cash-strapped local authorities across England are withdrawing the support that helps them to stay well at home, the chief inspector of social services warned yesterday. Paul Snell said two-thirds of councils will refuse to provide domiciliary services to people needing help to dress or bathe unless their condition is grave enough to pass a strict eligibility test. The government has asked the inspectorate to spearhead a shakeup of adult services in 21 persistently low-performing councils. John Carvel

Labour must put families first, says Harman

Families are having children later and having fewer than they would like because employment pressures are so great, Labour deputy leadership contender Harriet Harman will warn today. Ms Harman will use a speech to the Fawcett Society to highlight the strain faced by millions of families, with parents often having to juggle two full-time jobs and expensive childcare. Acknowledging that the government has too often focused on institutions rather than families, she will argue her party must put a focus on families at the heart of everything it does.Lucy Ward

Auditors to investigate BBC celebrities' fees

Multimillion pound payments to BBC celebrities such as Jonathan Ross are to be investigated by the National Audit Office to see if they are value for money for the licence payer. Mark Thompson, BBC director general, conceded the inquiry during a hearing of the Commons public accounts committee last night. He also promised to send MPs a list of presenters who, like former director general John Birt and Question Time's David Dimbleby, are paid through private companies, which can offer tax advantages. The MPs said the BBC should be audited by the NAO like other public bodies. David Hencke

Multiculturalism is out of date, Cameron tells mayor

Multiculturalism is an outdated ideology, David Cameron said yesterday, joining the row between the chair of the Commission for Racial Equality and Ken Livingstone. He described the London mayor's attack on Trevor Phillips as "an attempt ... to hang on to a narrative about race that is completely out of date rather than seeing people from ethnic minorities as equal citizens." The Tory leader said his party would monitor the background of its councillors, set up a work experience scheme for black and Asian youths, and hold roadshows to encourage greater political participation. Tania Branigan